Article:		The Ultimate Portable Studio, part 2
Subject:		Portable studio in conjunction with main studio
Date:		2005-07-27 11:26:07
From:		iain010100
Thank you for the informative articles. As a PC musician looking for a portable solution, you've made me think about returning to the Mac. Can you talk about using the portable studio as a secondary system in conjunction with a primary system? I imagine that many musicians like myself can use the portability of a laptop but won't abandon the giant workstation-based system tied to racks of outboard and MIDI gear. I'm looking for a portable system where I can record tracks at a friend's house, work on mixing and editing while on the road, then later port everything into my main DAW for overdubs, final mixing, etc. Some things simply aren't possible on a laptop. To make a portable system I'd need to pair down my terabytes of sample libraries and find temporary plug in substitutions for my MIDI gear and outboard effects.

Showing messages 1 through 2 of 2.

• Portable studio in conjunction with main studio
  2005-07-27 14:04:18  gfantsaez [Reply | View]
  
  
  An excellent question!!!
  
  I work the exact same way you do. I ahve a Pro Tools HD3 system in my main studio and my laptop is my portable rig. I personally have recently sold every piece of midi gear except for my Triton Pro. I have gone all software now but it's been a long transition. I carry a portble drive with my Mach FIve library and my virtual instruments. I keep aliases in my plug-in folder that link to my instrument drive. I have a MUCH larger virtual instrument and sample library at my studio and I keep my portable stuff as small as I can and then sometimes re-assign sounds when I get back to my main studio system.
  
  I agree that a laptop is limiting when you're used to a dual processor machine on a TDM system as opposed to host based laptop. Very good point. For most people it's not an issue, but for midi instrument and plug-in intensive stuff, you have to find creative workarounds. Logic has the best solution with freezing tracks. I am hoping Pro Tools catches up soon...
  
  I do alot of bouncing and creating stems of my Midi instruments, drums and vocal tracks before taking a session on my laptop. Yes, it can be a pain...
  
  What software do you use?
  
  Your question has prompted O-Reilly to ask me to write an article specificaly on this subject. So thank you.
  
  Gina
• Portable studio in conjunction with main studio
  2005-07-29 06:21:38  iain010100 [Reply | View]
  
  
  Thank you Gina. I look forward to reading more from you.
  
  My studio is PC-based. My main software sound sources is GigaStudio, after that, Absynth, and a variety of other virtual synths and effects. I alternate between Sibelius 3 for writing and working out arrangements, and Sonar 3 for sequencing.
  
  Best regards,
  -- Iain